Against all odds
by sofiislosthere
Summary: Here's the thing. Eren Jaeger is a dick. He has been a dick since the moment I met him until today. And all of this time, not once have I thought that he wasn't indeed a dick. The one thing that did change was that maybe, possibly, somehow along the way I turned from thinking "Man he's a dick" to "man I want his dick" Or how Jean Kirstein formed a band, met a dick and fell in love
1. Chapter 1

Here's my poor attempt to write an Eren/Jean fic. So please excuse my awful writing and misconception of plots.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

disclaimer: I do not own SNK nor any of their characters.

So,first things first.

My name is Jean Kirstein. I'm 20 years old and I'm a musician, currently studying at Trost University.

I live in the dorms with my best friend Marco and have been since our first year of college. He's an artist and a bookworm, but we got lucky enough to get to live together after knowing each other since elementary school.

Now, here's what's really important, and how all of this craziness started. I have a band. Or well, I'm in a band. We formed it together, but it really kinda was my idea.

We've called ourselves The Recon Corps, and it's mostly pop punk covers so far, but we are working on our own material. Which basically means that I'm writing lyrics and then we yell at each other as we try to come up with a melody to those lyrics. Now, that doesn't' seem like much, but with our different personalities, trust me, it is a BIG challenge.

We're three official performers, but basically there are five members. There's Ymir, our awesome but absolutely wild drummer; our quiet but killer bassist Bertholdt, and yours truly as lead singer and guitarist. Now, I said we were five, and that's because we have our official groupies and absolutely invested supporters: Sasha (my childhood friend) and Marco (part-time manager and lifesaver on the side).

Now, it is also important to know that our band is not only a side project form a group of clueless music students, it is a project that has helped us though college. All of us being musicians, with the obvious exception of Sasha and Marco, being in a band has proven to be a big benefit. It proves our engagement, it helps us improve with our constant rehearsals, and lastly, it shows us the hard reality of the business.

Nevertheless, it's thanks to this "side project" that most of our grades have gone up, to the point where Ymir got financial help with which she payed for her studies and managed to stay in college. All in all, it's kind of a big deal okay?

But, back to what I was saying. This is how all of this spiraled down: with one simple phone call.

I was staring at the ceiling in my bedroom, pencil stuck between my nose and my lips as I thought of lyrics for a new song, when the my phone rang.

It was Ymir, the evil drummer, soliciting an urgent meet up for the whole band. She wanted us all to go over hers and Krista's place to talk about something apparently important. But I'm traducing here, cus all I got was a "get your horsy ass back to my place in an hour. I call an emergency meet".

But that's how she is and trust me, you get used to it. We used to clash a lot, what with our exploding personalities and anger issues. We were lucky enough to have our own type of "morphine" which for me translated in the form of either Sash or Marco. For her, it was definitely Krista. If you looked at Ymir's eyes while she's staring at her girlfriend, I swear to god her googly eyes and rosy cheeks will make you believe in miracles man. It's that powerful.

Either way, I sighed and rolled out of bed. Ymir didn't even let me say anything in response, just ending the call after having made her statement. So, being deprived of any kind of choice, I got out of bed and headed to the shower.

Once it was over, I put some clothes on and got to our very own and tiny excuse of a kitchen. Marco was sitting in the living room, head stuck in some book about something.

"Yo, I'm going to Ymir's. Emergency meeting. You coming?"

Now, here's what you guys need to know. Marco was not a part of the band. He wasn't in it, technically speaking, but he was the most level headed one in our circle and hence, he sorta became a strange kind of manager or just a very underestimated babysitter for our crappy little band. Marco helped us making decisions, managing our cash, booking our gigs and all that sort of things.

In other words, he was our saviour, our own freckled Jesus.

"Uhh, sure. Is there something wrong?"

"I have no idea dude. It's Ymir. Maybe she just wants to bark at us for a while or something."

Marco shrugged and lift himself, searching for his favorite hoodie that no one was allowed to touch.

Sentimental values or some shit, I don't know. I don't even know where he even got it from. It looks too tight on him and it's kind of weird. But hey, he can do whatever he wants.

So we grabbed our keys and headed to the meeting that would change my life.

"This is not working" was Ymir's choice of words.

"Are you breaking up with us?" I said to her, my bottom lip quivering as I tried my hardest to pull some kind of puppy eye look.

"Don't do that Kirstein, you look like you're actually human. It's scary."

I flipped her off while the rest of the gang laughed.

Sasha had somehow ended up joining us in our meeting, since she was our number one (and maybe only) fan.

Ymir looked at Bert after having stated her mind, as if asking what were his thoughts.

Bert furrowed his brow and started to sweat. He was starting to get nervous, which probably meant that he was conflicted.

"What exactly do you mean with that Ymir?" He asked.

"I don't know. I feel like we're missing something. I mean, we're good, but I still feel like there's something else that could be done."

"Okay. Do you want to take on new songs or something?"

That was Marco. God, we needed him so much.

"I don't know. I mean I would love to, but I feel like horse-face here can't take too much playing without it somehow messing his singing."

"HEY! I do what I can! I would love to see you try!"

"Okay, okay, let's all calm down."

Marco said as he pushed his way between us and made us sit as far away from each other as possible.

"Ymir, why don't you come up with a list of songs that you would like, and then you guys could rehearse them and see how it goes. That way you get some change and Jean gets some time to practice."

"That sounds fair" Krista had spoken for the first time since our arrival. She was a tiny blonde girl, absolutely stunning, with the bluest eyes I had ever seen. She was like an angel. I would have loved for her to be with Marco, they would break the earth with their joined holiness.

If not, I would love for her to be my girlfriend, but it seems that just as Marco, she swung for the other team. And had somehow ended up in the hands of Ymir, which is still a complete mystery to me.

"Yeah, okay. Sounds fair enough." she answered finally.

"Do you have any other ideas if not?"

"What about a second guitarist?"

We all stared at Sasha as the room fell silent. After a couple of seconds, everyone turned their eyes to me.

Of course, they were expecting some kind of outburst, but I actually thought it was a brilliant idea.

"That's brilliant!" was all I said, surprising everyone around.

Sasha smiled smugly, knowing perfectly well that I wouldn't be bothered by her suggestion. Sash knew me too well. We had always been close, since we had been neighbors throughout our entire childhood and early adolescence, which explained why we were so comfortable around each other.

People often confused us as lovers, which was a definite no no since Sash was like a sister to me. But that didn't stop the jealous looks from other guys. I mean, Sasha was gorgeous. She has long legs and this brown-reddish hair that really brings out her eyes. She also smiles all the time and well she's just really hot I guess. What I love about her though was her personality. Damn that girl could pull awesome jokes. She laughs all the time and she puts up with my horrible attitudes. All in all, Sash is great.

But let's go back to where we were.

Bert and Ymir exchanged glances, not entirely sure if what I just said was some kind of trap.

"Really? You'd okay with that frenchie boy?"

"I mean, sure. If it means I can concentrate more on singing and get less shit about my crappy job as a lead man, then sure."

"What do you think Bert?"

"I mean, it could be a nice change. If you're both okay with it, then I'm okay with it"

"You should still make your list Ymir, while we start looking for a new guitarist."

"Yeah" Sasha scoffed. "Good luck with that. Finding someone who's able to put up with you guys is not going to be that easy."

Sasha made a horribly good point. We were awful. I mean Ymir and I were. And we both knew it. Bert was lovely, Sasha was awesome and Marco was adorable. The only douche bags here were us two.

"Well, we'll have to put our best attitudes then" Ymir winked at me.

I cringed.

"Don't wink at me. It's weird. And gross"

"Fuck off two-tones. You know you loved it"

I cringed again and this time everyone laughed.

"Well, I guess we'll have some auditions then" Marco said ,ending our debacle and already thinking ahead, as the awesome manager that he was.

I don't even think any of us had thought that far yet, but here he was, already making plans and everything.

"You guys should send me texts telling me when you're free. Then we'll sort out the dates and all. Sounds good?"

We all nodded our reply before standing up and getting our things. For as much as we enjoyed hanging around, Krista and Ymir were making eyes at each other that were enough proof for us to get out of there as quick as possible.

So taking our shit, we all made our way out,

"How about we go grab something to eat?" Sasha proposed.

"That sounds good." Bert said.

"I'm okay with that. Though, would you mind if I call a buddy of mine? He's in town for just a few days and well, this is a perfect excuse to see him"

"That's fine" Both Bert and Sash answered.

"I huh, I actually have umm other plans?"

The three of us stared at the freckled boy, seeing him sweat and squirm under our gazes.

"What are you hiding from us Marco?"

"W-what? I'm not hiding anything. I- I'm just going to the movies"

"Uh huh And I told him about our guitarist issue and all, since well you know, i talk a lot with this person and well they always know what to say and-"

"Marco, you're ranting"

"Right! Sorry! So, I told him about it, and he said he might know someone who would be willing to try and audition"

"So it is a "he" then?" I said, completely over looking the point Marco was trying to make and smirking at him.

"JEEAAAN" he whined, covering his face in his hands.

"What?"

"Listen to what I'm saying!"

"Okay. So, this person knows someone who could be our new and potential guitarist?"

"Yes."

"That's good. When will he be coming?"

"I don't know. I still haven't planned for it. Why?"

"So that he can bring this mysterious person that's making you blush like a teenage girl"

Marco looked up at me, completely embarrassed and I was about to laugh when a pillow abruptly collided with my face.

"You're a dick"

I actually managed to laugh after that, grabbing the pillow that had just hit me, prepared to take my vengeance. Marco quickly caught up with my plans and ran towards his bedroom. I chased him through the small dorm we shared and bolted inside his room. I was instantly tackled and hit several times with multiple pillows. I defended myself from the surprise attack the best that I could, but Marco had the upper hand, knowing the placement on everything in the room that I couldn't see in the darkness. So, making a dramatic fall, I surrendered. Marco wouldn't stop giggling, but he did flick the lights on before settling next to me on his carpet.

"Are you gonna tell me about your friend?"

Marco scoffed a laugh and turned towards me.

"Fine. If you must know." He said, mocking my dramatic end just a few seconds earlier.

"His name is Armin. He's majoring in History and is in one of my classes because he refused to take a sport as an alternative class. So, he's kind of a mess, but he's so cute."

I looked at Marco as he talked. I hadn't seen that spark in his eyes for a while. This new kid had definitely made an impact.

"I swear to god Jean, if that boy weren't so cute, the teacher wound't be so patient with him. I mean, how could you say anything mean to those big blue eye?."

"Well, sounds like you got yourself a crush there."

Marco looked up at the ceiling in his room, smiling slightly. "I think it's more than that."

"What?"

"I think I'm love with him Jean"

"How long have you even known this guy?!"

That was a surprise to him apparently.

"For about four months?"

"FOUR MONTHS?! You've been hiding this from me for four months?!"

Freckles smiled at me, the guilt obvious on his features.

"I'm sorry?"

"No, fuck you man. I thought we trusted each other."

I pushed myself up, ready to leave the room. I wasn't angry really, just a little hurt. And I would much rather leave now than say something that I'd regret.

Still, Marco grabbed me by my wrist and pulled me back down.

"I do trust you, you idiot. I'm just scared."

"Scared?"

"Yeah. I don't think I've ever felt like this before. It's awful. A wonderful kind of awesome."

"You have it that bad huh?"

He blushed again, but he still nodded. I crashed next to Marco again, wondering why I hadn't met someone like that. Was I cursed to never feel love or something?

"Would you like to meet him?"

Marco's question interrupted my weird thoughts, and I gladly took the chance to get away from them.

"Yeah, sure. Just tell me when."

"Well, I am going to see him tomorrow, but only to grab a quick bite to eat. I think his best friend is coming too. Eren or something like that."

"Eren? What kind of name is that?"

Marco breathed a laugh "I don't know man, but I sure as hell ain't asking him. This guy needs to absolutely love me. He's like family to Armin."

"Really? Do you really want ME coming to that?"

Marco seemed to consider it for a moment and that hurt a bit too.

"You're actually thinking about it?!"

This time Marco busted out laughing. "I'm just playing with you. Man you should have seen your face!"

"You're a dick"

"Yeah, well, so are you"

I couldn't argue with that. I just lightly punched his arm as response.

After a few minutes passed in absolute silence, Marco glanced back at me.

"So, you are coming tomorrow? I could use some moral support."

"Sure. I'd like to meet mystery man. And also, how bad could this Eren kid be anyway?"

I hope that wasn't so bad. It was kind of a filler, but I needed to put the characters in place and stuff. Next chapter will be better, I promise.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own anything but the stupid shit these idiots get into.

Thank you for taking the time to read this! And to the guest that told me about the issue before :)

* * *

I remember I was at a house party. It was your typical college party: there was music booming in the back, people drinking and having fun to the sound of some obnoxious pop song overplayed by all radio stations. I, however, was on one end of a discarded couch, flirting with a really hot chick. We had been laughing and talking for a good while now and I could feel in her body language that it was gonna end well. She had these big green eyes and long wavy brown hair. I had been looking at her, mesmerized by her and not really listening to what se was saying anymore. That was of course until she leaned in to whisper something in my ear.

"Wake up Jean"

I stared at her, not really understanding what that meant. Completely confused, I could do nothing but stare at her, her face slowly turning blurry just like everything else around. The earth started moving, or was it me who was moving? -What the fuck? - I could feel my body being shaken, a voice trying to reach my ears, but I couldn't make anything out of it. When the world finally stopped moving, everything went bright and I looked at the sheets of my bed all crumpled up and covering part of my face. From my weird position on my bed, I could make the silhouette of a certain freckly jackass that had had the nerve to interrupt my beauty sleep.

It was a saturday morning and for some unknown reason, Marco was trying to wake me the fuck up. I tried to block it all out, chasing desperately after my dream world and the hot girl that I know was waiting for me. But, alas, no matter how hard I tried, and trust me did I try, Marco finally won the battle, forcing me to open my eyes. I mostly glared at him, but hey, my eyes were open.

"What the hell Bodt?"

"Good morning to you too Jean"

"Why am I awake at the ungodly hour of…. - I glanced t my phone- noon? On a SATURDAY?" I hissed to the man giggling in front of me.

"Because you need to take a shower if we don't want to be don't have to though, just at least try to look presentable."

"But hot giiiiirl.." I whined in my drowsy state, making any 4 year old proud with my childish tantrum.

"Hot girl…? No, you know what, I'd rather not know. Now, get your butt out of bed before I rip your blankets off of you!"

"My butt is off limits Bodt! And why exactly am I doing this again?" I know it wasn't exactly early morning, but hell, I could sleep until 4 o clock if I wanted, and my brain still refused to work, lingering to the remnants of my dream and its hot girls.

"Because we're meeting Armin and his best friend/brother and you said you were coming with me"

There was a small pause, a deadly silence where I know I should have said something back to him.

"Or are you not coming anymore?" Marco used that cute tone that was physically impossible to any human being to say no to or to flat out ignore.

Curse you freckles. You're not supposed to use your superpowers against me.

"Should I really? This is your last chance to blow me off and save your date"

"Your butt is off limits but I can blow you off? Stop playing with my emotions Jean" He giggled, trying his best to sound hurt but failing completely. "Now stop acting like a baby and get 're coming with me."

I begrudgingly cracked my eyes back open, looking at my best friend and his goddamned puppy eyes, waiting expectantly for me to move.

"Ugh, fine. But let's make this clear: you're not supposed to use your mind control on me man! We had a deal. I don't show off my amazing body to you and your perverted mind and you don't play mind games with me."

Marco laughed as he walked out of my room, his laughter only managing to rub me off a little when he mocked my esthetics that bluntly.

"My powers are only used for good Jean, unlike yours." He said in response.

With that he walked out of my room, closing the door behind him. Once alone on my bed again, I regretted ever having been nosy enough to be invited to the damn lunch.

Of course I had said that I would come with him on one of the few weekends when I didn't have ANYTHING to do but rest, which let me tell I didn't happen much often. Wait till you get to college and you'll get it.

Growing up sucks man, just trust me on this.

Anyway, I huffed annoyingly and finally got out of bed. If Marco really needed me, then I would go with him, whether I'd rather sleep or not.

I took a quick shower, letting the cold water hit me directly on my face to wake myself up. I would still need a shit ton of coffee in my system to at least seem somewhat human, but like this it was less likely for me to go right back to sleep.

Once I got out, I faced one big problem. Looking at my wardrobe I realized I didn't know where we were going. Opening my bedroom door, I yelled out to my best friend.

"YO, MARC!"

"What?"

"WHERE ARE WE GOING?"

"Some pizza place I think. Why?"

"WHAT SHOULD I WEAR?"

"Are you serious?"

"WAIT. WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?"

"Jean, you should at least invite me a drink first" the little shit said teasingly.

I was about to answer some filthy shit just to get him flustered when a loud bang rudely interrupted me. And of course, it came from the dorm right next to us.

"I SWEAR TO GOD YOU ASSHOLES! IF THIS IS SOME KIND OF WEIRD FOREPLAY I WILL BREAK DOWN YOUR DOOR AND THROW YOU ON THE STREETS!"

Marco got out of his room and looked at me from the living room, a shocked expression etched on his face. We stared at each other for a few seconds before we just bursted out laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH REINER! NOW YOU KNOW HOW THIN THE WALLS ARE AND CONSIDER IT BEFORE HAVING ANGRY SEX WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND!"

We both heard a small squeak that surely meant Bertholdt had heard my last statement and was probably combusting into a pile of sweat and anxiousness.

It was quickly followed by some grunts and a low conversation before the low voice was heard again.

"I'm sorry"

"Sorry, what did you just said Reiner dear?"

"Oh fuck you Kirstein, you know perfectly well what I said!"

Another grunt and more hushed noises.

"I'm sorry guys" and then a muffled "there, are you happy now?" that wasn't directed at us but at the boy who was probably lecturing his loud boyfriend.

"It's okay Bert! We don't hate YOU!" Marco answered quickly.

Luckily, that was the last time we were involuntarily invited to their rather violent sex life… that week.

After we heard nothing but silence, we just assumed they had gone back to sleep, which meant that we could go back to our previous activities.

I quickly remembered my predicament and took a good look at Marco's outfit. He was wearing jeans that complimented his legs and a simple t shirt that hugged his torso quite nicely, accompanied by that ridiculously tight jacket that never left his body.

Huh..Marco sure is nice to look at, you know, despite the ridiculously tight second skin that was his jacket.

I shook my head, and went back to put some clothes on.

A quick ten minutes later and I was ready, putting my black converse on while chatting with Marco. I finally decided on some black jeans and a grey v neck and my leather jacket just in case. Not that it's important, but just so you could picture it. Cause damn I looked good.

Marco was fidgeting and pulling at the too short sleeves of his own jacket.

"It's gonna be alright you know that, right?"

Marco glanced back at me and smiled warmly.

"Yeah, I just can't help being a little nervous."

"Everybody loves you freckles, you have nothing to worry."

I patted his back and casually slung one arm around his shoulders, directing us out of the dorm.

We walked for a good fifteen minutes before stopping in front of a building that I was more than familiar with. Marco opened the door and we both headed inside, sliding in one of the booth near the back, next to the big window with a view of the city.

Marco was sitting in front of me, checking his texts when Sasha appeared out of nowhere and leaned on the table between us.

"So, what brings your pretty faces this early on a saturday?"

"See, she gets it!" I said to Marco who only rolled his eyes and looked back at Sash.

"I'm having lunch with Armin, and Jean here was gentle enough to grace us with his presence"

I glared at him, but decided to just tell Sasha the truth.

"Freckles here is going to be introduced to the best friend and is nervous out of his mind so he begged me to come with him" I said, with a sweet smile on my handsome face.

Sasha just laughed at our silliness and sat down next to me.

"So, you're finally meeting Eren then?"

Marco gulped and nodded at her. "Yeah…"

"Oh don't worry sweetie, he's not that bad."

"You know then?" I asked as they both carried on their conversation. How come Sasha already knew about him and his friend before me? How dare she?

"Don't look at me like that handsome, I was their waitress, it wasn't planned."

Well, that did make sense. Still unfair though.

Sasha stood back up and got het little note pad out.

"Anyway, what can I getcha?"

"Oh, I'll wait for them to get here first."

" I'll get a coke please"

" Okay no problem! I'll be back once they get here. Good luck Marco!"

And with that she left, quickly bouncing to another table and getting back to work.

"Why are you so nervous though? He's his best friend not his father or something."

Marco glanced back at his phone before locking it and looking back at me.

"Well, Armin was basically adopted by Eren's family since he was little. His parents work out of the country and are traveling most of the time. So he had the choice to either follow them and change schools every year, or just stay back at his hometown and stay with Eren's family, which were old family friends anyway. So he just stayed with them and they both grew up together, along with Eren's adopted sister. So I might as well be meeting his family."

"Oh. Well, you'll be just fine. Don't worry about it" I smiled at him, trying my best to reassure him. I honestly believe that it is impossible to not like Marco Bodt.

I was still trying to calm my best friend from his upcoming panic attack when the door bells chimed and our heads immediately turned towards the front doors.

In came a short-ish blond kid with the bluest eyes I have ever seen in my entire life.

I looked at Marco, stupidly expecting for him to tell me if it was him or not, but all I got was a dorky smile and adoring eyes.

So yeah, who needed actual human speech when you could see stupid little hearts flying from Marco's head as he watched the kid walk towards us.

When mystery man finally reached our booth, Marco got up, seemingly coming back from his trance to basically suffocate the guy in his arms. Now, let me tell you this. The kid was already cute looking on his own, and Marco had that same effect, but both of them together, and with their height difference… Oh my god it was pure adorableness. The amount of cuteness that radiated from that couple of kids was off the charts. I was sure that just by staring at them I could now puke butterflies and rainbows, it was that powerful.

As they separated from each other, I noticed something… interesting.

This Armin guy was good looking, sure, but his outfit threw me off at first. His pants fit perfectly and his bowl cut hair didn't bother me at all, but the jacket.. That jacket was way too big for his little frame. It hung loose from everywhere, and the sleeves ate his arms almost completely. And that's when it hit me.

They were wearing each other's jackets. They have been for what.. two months now?

I felt a rush in my stomach, and looked out of the window. The amount of cuteness was unbearable at this point. They could probably cure cancer with these kids. God Marco, why are you so lucky?

When am I going to find someone to be sickly cute with that people have to punch each other to feel manly again?

I kept on this train of thought until Marco waved his hand in front of my face.

"Jean? Are you there?"

"OH! Yeah, sorry.. I kinda zoned out there.." I said, rubbing my neck, noticing how embarrassing this was.

"Anyway, Jean, this is Armin" he said to me, and then turned to the kid "Armin, this is Jean. The one I've been talking you about."

Armin smiled sweetly and extended his hand, partially covered by Marco's big letterman jacket.

"Hey! I'm glad to finally meet you. Marco talks about you all the time!"

"Oh god. It's all a lie, don't believe anything he says about me! He's been talking smack about me hasn't he?"

Armin laughed and pushed his hair behind his ear. "Hmm well, I can't neither admit nor deny anything."

"Marco, how dare you!" I asked over dramatically at Marco, making the both of them laugh with my awesome acting skills and sense of humor. I mean come on. I'm a catch.

Someone love me already. Please.

"See what I have to deal with on a daily basis?" Marco asked, jumping in on my tragic affair.

Armin was enjoying it apparently, as he continued laughing at our dumb interaction. I already liked this kid.

"I can assure you that he really cares about you though, if that helps?"

I looked at Armin and a little smile crept onto my face.

"Yeah, well, I could say the exact same thing to you"

They both looked at each other, before looking at their lap as their faces turned red. It was the most endearing thing I've ever seen. And I binge on cute animal videos, so you can imagine the level this shit was on.

I saw them lace their hands together and I instantly felt a plethora of emotions. I was so damn happy for these kids, but I was also so incredibly jealous of them.

I don't exactly know when I started feeling so desperate, but there's one point in your life when you start wondering why you haven't found someone in such a long time. Or if you will ever find someone.

I was sad and kind of lonely. I was mostly afraid to be alone until I fucking died, but I was also worried that I thought about this so much lately. What's wrong with me?

I decided it was better to listen to what the lovebirds were saying than to have a meltdown right in the middle of a restaurant while meeting your best friend's boyfriend for the first time.

I listened to them as they talked, doing these little subtle things like rubbing their thumbs over the other's hand or staring intently at the other's eyes when they spoke. It show how much they cared. And I was so envious of them.

God I'm lonely..

After about 20 minutes of talking to Armin and getting to know him, I knew Marco had found his perfect match.

Not only was the kid smart as hell, he was funny and if the look he had as he watched freckles was anything to go by, I had absolutely nothing to worry.

We had been having such a nice time that we had all forgotten that there was a fourth someone still missing.

I was about to mention this when my phone started ringing. I would have let it go to voicemail, since this was important for Marco, but as soon as I saw the foreign number I had to excuse myself.

Marco gave me a nod, completely understanding the situation as I got up and out of the restaurant.

It was my mother.

Now, here's what you guys need to know: Since the moment my father had a minor heart complication due to stress, both my parents started rethinking their lives and wanted to get back home, which for them was France. South of France to be exact.

This was about 3 years ago. At that time they had sat down with me, explaining everything and then asking my opinion on the subject.

I gave it some thought and we discussed all the different possibilities. I mean, I could (and still can fyi) speak french, since I went back there pretty much every summer and every other chance we had. But, I knew that I wasn't ready to actually go to a french school. I knew I would't be able to adapt to their system fast enough, if at all. And repeating a year was just a stupid idea.

So, together we decided to wait until I graduated from high school and then they could go back home. My future, meaning if I would leave with them or not, would be decided later on, once I knew where I wanted to attend college and all that crap.

In the end, I stayed here, got into college with Marco by my side and well, things had gotten good… except for my family.

We had been having a hard time since we went our different ways. Mom wanted me to go back there with them, to find a cute girlfriend, settle down and live a cookie-cutter life. I just couldn't see myself living in France. At least not until I was around 60 and had a lot of money.

I honestly think that all the fights we usually had were mainly because we missed each other and well, feelings are something that the Kirstein family can't handle very well. We start with good intentions but usually end up fighting and yelling at each other. And that's exactly what had been going on for a while.

When that particular phone call got to me, my parents had been giving me the cold shoulder for about 3 weeks, so it was obvious that I needed to get it.

I stood outside of the restaurant, getting ready for a lash out from any of my parents, took a last deep breath and I finally answered.

"Hello?"

"Jean?"

"Yeah. Hi mom"

"Ça va mon amour?" [ Are you doing okay my love?]

"I'm good. How have you guys been doing?"

"We've been good…"

"That doesn't sound very convincing mom…"

"Listen Jean-jean, we have something to tell you…"

Around then minutes later, i hung up, looking at the black screen of my phone, my mind racing with the news that parents had just gracefully thrown at me.

I think I stayed like that, blankly staring at my hand and the object in it for more than 5 minutes before I finally reacted and turned around, ready to tell Marco the news.

Thats about when I crashed into someone's chest, bringing us both to the ground in a loud symphony of curses and growls.

"OUCH! Fuck! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry man! I- I didn't see you there."

"Yeah, well, it's kind of hard to see when you're walking backwards, you asshole!"

"Hey! I'm apologizing here. Don't be a dick!"

"I'm a dick? How am I the dick when you're the one who threw me to the ground?!"

"It was a accident, just in case your tiny little brain didn't manage to catch that!" I said to him, picking myself up and dusting off my jeans.

Even after what he had just said, I still offered my hand to the asshole to try and help him back up. And you know what he did? No, you don't.

This motherfucker had the nerve to slap my hand away before standing on his own and glare at me intensely.

"Wow, I actually felt bad for tripping you, but now I'm actually kind of glad. Maybe the fall will help you stretch and pop your head out of your fucking ass!"

"You are so goddamn lucky that I'm late right now and don't have the time to bash your ugly fucking face to the pavement!"

I was shocked. How could someone actually be that shitty?

"Yeah, yeah. Just get out of here already!"

The damn bastard pushed me aside, elbowing me on the side as he passed, before rushing inside the restaurant.

I swear to this day that I heard him murmuring under his breath as he walked away, calling me a jerk and a horse-faced monstrosity.

He denies it every time, but I know. And deep inside, he knows it too.

Once the douche had gone inside and disappeared from my view, I decided to get back to the lovebirds.

I wanted their opinion on the subject that I had just talked with my parents, thinking it might help me process it.

I waved at Sasha when I passed next to her on my way back to the booth. She actually made me feel better when she pulled a face, reminding me of the silly games we played as we grew up.

She distracted me enough that it wasn't until I had slipped back into my seat that I noticed someone next to me.

When I realized who it was, I almost flipped the table.

"WHAT IS THIS DOUCHEBAG DOING HERE?!"

"WHY IS THE ASSHOLE IN HERE?!"

We both screamed at the same time, our rage completely and unfairly directed to the lovebirds sitting in front of us.

Both of them shared a knowing look that obviously showed they had expected this, before sighing.

If I hadn't been so pissed off at that moment I would have been hurt. I thought I had gotten better at this. Apparently not.

At least, this had also been expected from Eren, which made me feel just a little better. But still, how dare they.

The jerk and I stared at each other, fuming and quickly squirming away from the other as if we could contract some sort of disease just from sharing the same cramped space.

"Well - Armin sighed- I can see that you already met…"

"This is your best friend?!"

"This is your best friend?!"

We both pointed at each other, utter disbelief clinging in our voices. How could someone befriend this douchebag was beyond my understanding.

When I looked at him again I saw that the asshole, also known as Eren, was seething.

I was also pissed off, after having been shouted at so rudely by him just a moment ago, when I had received important news that I didn't know how to handle. But now I had to look at him and sit right next to him? No. This was too much.

I needed to get out of there. My parents had just dropped a bomb on me, I had just been presented to Marco's freaking soulmate, which only reminded me of how I was going to die alone before even knowing that kind of happiness… the last thing I needed was to stay next to this jerk for a couple of hours.

I slid out and stood up. I smiled as warmly as I could manage in this situation before addressing the couple.

"Armin, it was nice to meet you. I hope we can do this again."

I extended my hand to him and pulled him into a half-hug and patted his shoulder.

"Take care of him for me okay?"

Armin nodded, but it was clear that he didn't want this to go the way it was going. I felt horrible about it, but I would deal with it later, when there wasn't an enraged idiot breathing violently next to me.

Finally I nodded to Marco, hoping that he could read everything I was thinking just as he usually did.

As I was going out, I thought about seeing Sash for a second, maybe it would help, but decided against it. The fresh air would probably be better, and at least that way I couldn't hurt anyone else.

I was trying to make my way out of downtown, simply trying to get back to my dorm as quickly as possible. I was so urged to get out of there, that I almost didn't notice the chiming bells and the sound of footsteps getting closer and closer to me.

"Heey! Dude wait!.. Uhhh.. Jeen!"

I cringed. I walked faster.

"Jeen come on, wait up just one sec man! Don't be an asshole!"

Is this guy for real?

I turned around, figuring it would be better to just get over whatever it is he wanted and then just run outta there.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Stingy"

"Ugh, why did I even bothered?"

I started to turn around once again, I've had more than enough of this douche for a day. I don't know how Armin spent time with him, voluntarily.

"Damn Jeen, what's up your butt?"

"It's JEAN. And for your information there's nothing up my ass! There's just an ass that doesn't let me leave when I obviously don't want to be here."

"Jeez man, relax. And that's what I said right? Jeen?"

"No. It's JEAN. Like Jshaaawn"

"So, John?"

"No."

"But it's written like jeans right?."

"NO! Well yeah, kind of.. ugh. It's french okay?"

"Wow, pretentious much?"

"Are you serious right now? Did you just stopped me to continue proving how much of a jerk you are?"

"No. It's just not my fault you have a pretentious and fancy ass name when you don't even live in fucking France."

"You've got to be kidding me.. My family is french! Why the fuck does that even matter anyway? It's not like EREN is a fucking common name is it?!"

"Yeah well, at least it's pronounced as it is spelled"

"I don't have time for this.."

"No wait! Ugh. Listen, I don't want to be here with you, but I'm doing this for Armin and I'm trying to make him happy okay? By the look on Marco's face, I can tell that you could be doing the same. Let's just… I don't know, go back, try not to rip each other's heads off and then it will be over. Okay?"

For as much as I hated to admit it, the freak was right. I could stand a couple of hours (hopefully much less) with this douchebag if it made Marco happy.

Against all logic screaming at me, I started walking back towards the restaurant.

"Ugh, fine. But you could at least try to be a decent human being for a while."

"Like you're one to talk, horse face"

"Did you really just…?"

Eren just grinned, obviously satisfied by his lame comeback. I swallowed my pride and continued walking. This was going to be a looong looooooong hour.

Not only was I going to be watching my best friend enjoy the company of his fucking soulmate, but I also had to sit next to the biggest dick in the entire world. And not even the fun kind of dick. Just the regular and completely annoying kind of dick that I did not want in my life.  
As I sat there, I wondered what could I possibly have done in my previous lives that I was now paying with this horrible situation. This was too much of a shitty situation to just be a coincidence. No one meets someone like Eren for absolutely no reason. Mine was apparently to be punished for being an awful human being. I was right.. he had been sent to punish me, just not the way that I had thought..

* * *

**A.N:** Hey guys, so it seems like my last update went wrong? But hopefully this one was okay. I will try to update as soon as possible, but real life has caught up with me and well, I'm trying my best. Thank you again for reading this stupid little thing and hope you have a nice day!

see you next time~


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